Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery (2025)- BFI London Film Festival 2025

Review

140min

Genre:       Comedy, Crime, Mystery, Thriller

Director:    Rian Johnson

Cast:         Daniel Craig, Josh O’Connor, Glenn Close…and more

Writers:     Rian Johnson

-Synopsis-

A young priest’s new assignment to a small town upstate New York Catholic parish becomes complicated when he begins to clash with its domineering preacher, and turns into a nightmare when the fiery father is mysteriously murdered with the entire congregation under suspicion and him as the prime suspect—enter celebrity sleuth ‘Benoit Blanc’ to untangle the mystery and expose uncomfortable secrets about the whole flock while unravelling an unlikely conspiracy, in this third instalment of the Netflix franchise from the director of ‘Looper’ and ‘Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi’.

Having gone after class and privilege with the 2019 series starter ‘Knives Out’, and skewering capitalist greed via big tech and modern disposable culture with the 2022 sequel ‘Glass Onion’, all while channelling his inner Agatha Christie, writer/director Rian Johnson returns with his latest all-star ensemble whodunit and his own signature detective creation, taking aim at the Catholic church and blind belief whilst striking at masculinity and traditionalism, and not missing an opportunity to bash the modern American right . . . with mixed cinematic results.

Josh O’Connor stars as eager young priest with a past father ‘Jud’, dedicated to preaching Christ’s doctrine of forgiveness and acceptance to the small flock at “Our Lady of Perpetual Fortitude”, effectively run by the church’s jack-of-all-trades ‘Martha Delacroix’ (Glenn Close) but lorded over by charismatic but combative and toxic head preacher ‘Monsignor Jefferson Wicks’ (Josh Brolin), with whom the young newcomer soon begins to clash. But when Wicks is violently killed in the church in the presence of the entire congregation—including jaded local author ‘Lee Ross’ (Andrew Scott), troubled doctor ‘Nat Sharp’ (Jeremy Renner), cynical young online influencer ‘Cy Draven’ (Daryl McCormack) and his step-mother ‘Vera’ (Kerry Washington), stricken young local ‘Simone’ (Cailee Spaeny), and church groundsman ‘Samson’ (Thomas Haden Church)—father Jud becomes the prime suspect and local police chief ‘Geraldine Scott’ (Mila Kunis) calls in the services of celebrated southern sleuth Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig), who teams up with Jud to prove his innocence and find the killer, while uncovering a truth which tears the community apart . . . but might also help to heal it.

Like the other films in the franchise ‘Wake Up Dead Man’ is stylishly shot by Johnson’s regular collaborator and ‘Knives Out’ series resident cinematographer Steve Yedlin (Looper, Knives Out), but in cooler tones than the two previous films to reflect the narrative’s mood, capturing the green beauty of locations near London where the film was shot, standing in for fictional upstate New York where it’s set, including the striking 19^th century neo-Gothic ‘Holy innocents Church’ in Essex which takes centre stage.

As with its two predecessors both named after lesser-known songs from major rock bands, ‘Wake Up Dead Man’ gets its title from a U2 track from their 1997 ‘Pop’ album, as Rian Johnson’s rock ‘n’ roll brand of murder-mystery takes a darker more sombre tone than the other films in the series by delving into the minefield of organised religion, or at least of the safer Christian variety, skewering the hypocrisy and dogma of the church while critiquing the cult of personality associated with many who run it, but at the same time hammering home a message of forgiveness, acceptance and healing that’s closer to the original teachings of Jesus.

Fear not though because there’s still plenty of humour and entertainment to be had with this ensemble romp, featuring its fair share of clever quips and observational comedy reflecting the modern state of American society and well delivered by a talented multi-generational cast, as Johnson once again coats his narrative with his own perspective on the current American culture wars and the deep political division in his distinctly divided United States. The result is in part a comedic critique of social media influencers, alternative facts, and the radicaliser culture of today which bridges celebrity with politics in a troubling and dangerous way—ultimately proving more hit than miss when it comes to genuine laughs.

Yet it’s also safe to say that three instalments and six years into Johnson’s murder-mystery franchise there has been a clear and steady decline in quality from the fresh yet familiar heights of 2019’s ‘Knives Out’. Try as it might ‘Wake Up Dead Man’ can’t muster the warmth, cleverness, and well-crafted execution of the first film, and it just doesn’t have the same level of intrigue, inventiveness and narrative sharpness. Nor is it as satirical, biting or zany as the less memorable but still entertaining and over-the-top style over substance 2022 sequel ‘Glass Onion’—and it’s just not as funny, engrossing or enjoyable as either.

Even Daniel Craig as the irresistible southern sleuth has his impact curtailed by a less intricate and inventive plot and inferior dialogue compared to the previous films, and by less screen time, although he still manages to pull it out of the page and prove utterly watchable at almost every turn. Meanwhile Josh O’Connor and his just about passable American accent playing the young priest is both the fulcrum and the spiritual heart of the piece, but only just about manages to hold it all together without truly taking flight, while the rest of the ensemble cast are largely solid if unspectacular, with Daryl McCormack as the right-wing influencer clearly meant to solicit most of the audience’s ire proving the biggest standout, that is apart from the great Glenn Close who’s ultimately the real all-star here.

Yet for all its shortcomings and struggling to deliver a truly rewarding final payoff, Johnson just about manages to get this ensemble locomotive to the station and the journey is ultimately worth it, proving slick, stylish and charming enough to justify its nearly two-and-a-half hour runtime, and while it may not light up the screen or assure us about the future of the franchise, it still delivers plenty of engaging modern Hollywood escapism to enjoy.

The Bottom Line…

Despite not having the novelty or hitting the narrative heights of the first film in the series, or boasting the zany entertainment value of the second, with ‘Wake Up Dead Man’ Rian Johnson just about proves that he hasn’t lost his touch with the whodunit modern murder-mystery, playing with the fires of religion without getting burned and delivering a hopeful message amidst a darker tone whilst entertaining in the process.

‘Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery’ is out in the UK and US in selected cinemas on the 26th of November, and streams on Netflix from the 12th of December.

Similar films you may like (Home Video)

Knives Out (2019)

When the wealthy author patriarch of a combative and dysfunctional American family unexpectedly dies at one of their gatherings, a police detective and a celebrated private investigator are sent to unravel the mystery, but soon find more than they bargained for . . . and more than meets the eye—in an all-star 21st century take on the whodunit murder-mystery from the writer/director of ‘Looper’ and ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’.

Directed by Rian Johnson and starring Daniel Craig, Chris Evans and Ana de Armas among others.

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